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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, delivering one hell of a speech on the fashion industry. (via)
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Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Mary Hopkin - In My Life. Beautiful rendition of the Beatles song, sung live with an orchestral backing.
See also "Goodbye", written for Mary by Paul McCartney. # ·
See also "Goodbye", written for Mary by Paul McCartney. # ·
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Dusty Springfield - People Get Ready. A spellbinding performance of the Curtis Mayfield civil rights anthem.
And equally as amazing: Dusty Springfield - I Think It's Going To Rain Today. Randy Newman's song, from 1968.
So many great, great Dusty clips out there: do your own searching. But maybe see also, for curiosity value alone:
Dusty Springfield & Engelbert Humperdinck - " Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Yes, really...
Dusty Springfield, Phyllis Diller and Millicent Martin, all camping it up with Liberace. YES! REALLY!
See also: Dusty Springfield with Martha & Vandellas - Wishin' & Hopin'. They're so clearly having a blast performing this. # ·
And equally as amazing: Dusty Springfield - I Think It's Going To Rain Today. Randy Newman's song, from 1968.
So many great, great Dusty clips out there: do your own searching. But maybe see also, for curiosity value alone:
Dusty Springfield & Engelbert Humperdinck - " Ain't No Mountain High Enough". Yes, really...
Dusty Springfield, Phyllis Diller and Millicent Martin, all camping it up with Liberace. YES! REALLY!
See also: Dusty Springfield with Martha & Vandellas - Wishin' & Hopin'. They're so clearly having a blast performing this. # ·
Bela B. (feat. Charlotte Roche) - 1.2.3. ...
Admittedly, it does help if you understand German for this one (the language and the sense of humour, which can be a tad elemental for refined tastes). A comedy of manners, set in a Swingers' Club. Contains wobbly dangly bits.
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Admittedly, it does help if you understand German for this one (the language and the sense of humour, which can be a tad elemental for refined tastes). A comedy of manners, set in a Swingers' Club. Contains wobbly dangly bits.
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Claudja Barry - "Wake Up And Make Love". Yes, the Ian Dury song, here delivered in a cut-price Grace Jones style by The One, The Only, The Fabulous, Miss! Claudja! Barry!
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Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Konono N°1: Congotronics, performed on electric thumb pianos and homemade amplifiers.. DAMN, but I want to see this lot play live...
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(The Real) Tuesday Weld - Bathtime in Clerkenwell. Brilliant black & white animation - just watch it.
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Saturday, July 22, 2006
Public Image Ltd - Death Disco, Top Of The Pops, July 1979.
See also: Poptones, Old Grey Whistle Test, late 1979.
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See also: Poptones, Old Grey Whistle Test, late 1979.
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Can - Paper House. Beat Club, 1971. Really kicks off at around the 3 minute mark. This one's for Dymbel.
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Krautrock Baby.
Sterling is 11 months old, and loves bubbles. And bouncing. And Neu's "Hallogallo".
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Sterling is 11 months old, and loves bubbles. And bouncing. And Neu's "Hallogallo".
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Dolly Parton - Potential New Boyfriend. Live on Solid Gold, 1980s. I've always loved this one.
See also: a delightful rendition of "I Will Always Love You" from 1974.
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See also: a delightful rendition of "I Will Always Love You" from 1974.
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Sylvester - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real). Original promo video, containing some exemplary fan-flnging. All hail.
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Claude François - Petite mèche de cheveux.
Let's just say that 1960s French pop could be a bit "hit and miss" at times.
See also: Claude François and Diana Ross collectively murdering "Reach Out I'll Be There" in February 1968, while Mary and Cindy gamely mug along (with their mikes switched off).
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Let's just say that 1960s French pop could be a bit "hit and miss" at times.
See also: Claude François and Diana Ross collectively murdering "Reach Out I'll Be There" in February 1968, while Mary and Cindy gamely mug along (with their mikes switched off).
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Human Resource - Dominator. Some claim that this was the first recorded instance of "hoover" techno, and who am I to doubt them? Not getting the point of "rave" until it was almost over remains one of my greatest musical wrong turnings, but that's what you get for staying a snooty soulboy purist for too long.
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Aretha Franklin - Night Life (written by Willie Nelson), recorded live circa 1969.
See also: Call Me, I Say A Little Prayer (keep watching; it builds) and Don't Play That Song For Me (You Lied), all live at Montreux, 1971.
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See also: Call Me, I Say A Little Prayer (keep watching; it builds) and Don't Play That Song For Me (You Lied), all live at Montreux, 1971.
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Rodrigo y Gabriela - Tamacun. Probably their best known tune (which still reminds me of Barbara Streisand's "Woman In Love", but that's my problem.) Needs to be experienced live, but hopefully you'll get the general idea.
See also: Diablo Rojo.
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See also: Diablo Rojo.
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Usha Uthup & Bappi Lahiri - Auva Auva Koi Yahan Nache, from the 1982 Bollywood film Disco Dancer. Just as Usha Uthup's immortal "One Two Cha Cha Cha" incorporated snatches of KC & The Sunshine Band, so this incorporates snatches of the Buggles. Deeply weird, at times almost dub-like in its sparseness.
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Johnny Cash & Odetta on "The Johnny Cash Show", August 30th, 1969, performing "Shame and Scandal On A Family".
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Arctic Monkeys live on Jools Holland's Later, 2005. I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor, When The Sun Goes Down, From The Ritz To The Rubble.
This is the performance that knocked both of us sideways at the time, and I've yet to hear them top it.
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This is the performance that knocked both of us sideways at the time, and I've yet to hear them top it.
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Fela Kuti with Jethro Tull (no, this is not a misprint) live in Munich, 1983. The first Youtube clip to get me off my seat and dancing round the kitchen.
(And here's more of the same.)
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(And here's more of the same.)
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The Ornette Coleman Quartet, with James "Blood" Ulmer on guitar, performing in Rome, 1974. Esctatic, abandoned, glorious.
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A 1960s Canadian TV interview with Leonard Cohen.
"If you can sell your anguish, then you've probably done one of the best possible things you can do with anguish."
(Also remarkable for the almost tangible sense of sexual tension between Cohen and his interviewer.)
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"If you can sell your anguish, then you've probably done one of the best possible things you can do with anguish."
(Also remarkable for the almost tangible sense of sexual tension between Cohen and his interviewer.)
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Alla Pugacheva - Balalaika (USSR, 1986). Camp enough for you? I particularly like the Air Glockenspiel during the first chorus.
See also: Alla's mesmerically diva-tastic performance of "Golden Merry-Go-Round" (1985), her frankly gob-smacking romp through "Arlequino" (1998), and her deathless rendition of "Prima Donna" at the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest. Goodness, I feel a new obsession coming on...
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See also: Alla's mesmerically diva-tastic performance of "Golden Merry-Go-Round" (1985), her frankly gob-smacking romp through "Arlequino" (1998), and her deathless rendition of "Prima Donna" at the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest. Goodness, I feel a new obsession coming on...
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Audrey Hepburn - How Long Has This Been Going On?
From Funny Face. More hat-flinging par excellence.
See also (and you must, you must): Moon River.
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From Funny Face. More hat-flinging par excellence.
See also (and you must, you must): Moon River.
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Mary Tyler Moore Show - opening credits. "Who can turn the world on with her smile?" YOU TOSS THAT TAM O'SHANTER GIRL.
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The Osmonds - Let Me In. Correction: Mary, THIS one's for you.
See also: Down By The Lazy River, Crazy Horses.
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See also: Down By The Lazy River, Crazy Horses.
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Middle Of The Road - Soley Soley. Quite indescribably beautiful. I could weep. But then, it is very, very late.
Mary, this one's for you.
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Mary, this one's for you.
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The Sweet - Little Willy. Aged 10, this was everything I wanted pop music to be.
See also: Poppa Joe and Co-Co.
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See also: Poppa Joe and Co-Co.
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Anna Vissi - Everything. The Greek entry for Eurovision 2006. YOU SHOW 'EM GRANDMA!
(Compare and contrast with Anna's performance of "Autostop" at Eurovision in 1980.)
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(Compare and contrast with Anna's performance of "Autostop" at Eurovision in 1980.)
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Hastings Riverside Company Showchoir 2006 - Roundabout. That's right: the Yes classic, reinterpreted as Musical Theatre.
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Monday, March 27, 2006
Best overseas South African blog! My dear friend and partner-in-crime Alan has been showered in glory by his fellow countrymen. Ee, I'm that proud.
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The forthcoming Gotan Project album, streamed in full. On first listening, it sounds great. Not radically different from the grotesquely overplayed La Revancha Del Tango - but different enough.
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Thursday, February 09, 2006
And I Thought I Was The Only One Department: how reassuring to know that someone else has date-sorted their coinage, with accompanying statistics.
Me, in the comments:
That's one of the things I liked about China: loads of people standing around and staring into space. Very healthy. # ·
Me, in the comments:
I used to date-sort my coinage quite regularly. But then that was before the Internet, when we had to make our own entertainment.
Anyone remember boredom? I sort-of miss boredom.
I do, though. I sort-of miss boredom. Who said the other day that the Internet was the new Staring Out Of The Window? We don't spend enough time staring out of windows anymore. Or doodling. Or listening to shit songs on the radio, in the hope that the next one will be a good one.Anyone remember boredom? I sort-of miss boredom.
That's one of the things I liked about China: loads of people standing around and staring into space. Very healthy. # ·
Marcello, on the Theme From Z Cars:
...while the theme from Z Cars jumps epileptically on the spot, like an Orange Lodge march stranded on a traffic island.
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Unusually thought-provoking post on Status Anxiety, on the subject of comparing oneself with the abilities and achievements of others, which has had me doing a lot of thinking over the last 24 hours. Particularly since that's been a big personal topic for me this week. Anyway, I've finally left a rambling comment... oh crap, should I even be directing traffic that way? It sort-of feels wrong. Hmm. Well, I could do with finding my own way back, for the sake of reference, so...
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Wednesday, February 08, 2006
"Keep it low, keep it blue."
"We do not want see a quarter of a million in that box."
"We have a one-box game!"
"This is the best - game - we've ever - had."
Rats, I'm hooked. Curse you More4, and your daily 18:10 repeats!
Charlie Brooker, I blame you for starting it. # ·
"We do not want see a quarter of a million in that box."
"We have a one-box game!"
"This is the best - game - we've ever - had."
Rats, I'm hooked. Curse you More4, and your daily 18:10 repeats!
Charlie Brooker, I blame you for starting it. # ·
My taxi driver from this morning used to work in this office block in the 1980s, when the Inland Revenue were based here. Apparently, the 12th floor (the empty one above this one, where I used to have my reiki sessions) was occupied by Central Television.
"You used to see the stars in the lifts, all the time. It was one of the perks of the job."
"Oh yes? Who did you see?"
"Well, Dave Bartram of Showaddywaddy was never out of the place..."
Dave.
Bartram.
Of Show.
Waddy.
Waddy.
In OUR lifts.
It's almost too much to take in. # ·
"You used to see the stars in the lifts, all the time. It was one of the perks of the job."
"Oh yes? Who did you see?"
"Well, Dave Bartram of Showaddywaddy was never out of the place..."
Dave.
Bartram.
Of Show.
Waddy.
Waddy.
In OUR lifts.
It's almost too much to take in. # ·
Bookmarked for future reference, i.e. when I have a free evening at home, i.e. HAH, so when the F**K is THAT gonna be... and breathe...
ILM: the youtube thread chock full of goodness.
Obscure archive music videos to die for. # ·
ILM: the youtube thread chock full of goodness.
Obscure archive music videos to die for. # ·
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Talk about two continents divided by a single language. My favourite sentence from this week's Stylus Singles Jukebox comes from Brad Shoup, talking about "Fireman" by Lil' Wayne:
I know being au courant this hour means giving dap to Weezy, but as long as he hands checks to Birdman, I can't tipple the Kool-Aid.
Mainly because I haven't got the faintest clue as to what he's on about - and so I keep rolling the words around in my mind, over and over, like a mantra from which some eternal truth might eventually be revealed.
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Waiter Rant: Heaven & Hell. Modern-day parable, beautifully told. Unashamedly sentimental, and justifiably so.
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Robin at Speaking as a Parent, waxing eleoquent on conspiracy theories. Couldn't agree more, especially in the light of recent-ish absurd comments on Rachel's blog (which I can't be arsed to dig up and link to, but, well, really.)
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When I get obsessed with a subject, I get well and truly obsessed with it. Simon Reynolds @ Blissblog continues the Arctic Monkeys counter-backlash. YES! Somebody else from the hi-falutin Cult Studs wing of the music blogosphere has actually bothered to sit down and listen to the album! I feel like punching the air with glee.
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DON'T read hard copies of the Forksplit archives on the toilet at work. The ensuing hysterical spluttering will be almost impossible to mask. Frankly, it would be less embarrassing to be caught, you know. That thing which I don't do. (At work.)
Case study: Ten(emos) PLAY STA/TION! # ·
Case study: Ten(emos) PLAY STA/TION! # ·
Betty praised the Arctic Monkeys. In her comments box, I concurred, at moderate length.
I also enjoyed what Marcello said. (Scroll down a bit.) # ·
I also enjoyed what Marcello said. (Scroll down a bit.) # ·
Monday, February 06, 2006
Nick Cave played Nottingham last week.
He has never played Nottingham before.
I've never seen him play live.
I've been buying his albums since the late 1980s.
I've always wanted to see him play live.
I had a ticket.
The gig was last Wednesday.
Today is Monday.
I've just realised something.
I've missed the gig.
It should have been written in my diary.
But it wasn't.
When I added the new pages, I forgot to transfer the dates.
I forgot.
I forgot about a gig which I had been looking forward to for weeks.
If not years.
Current mood: wretched. # ·
He has never played Nottingham before.
I've never seen him play live.
I've been buying his albums since the late 1980s.
I've always wanted to see him play live.
I had a ticket.
The gig was last Wednesday.
Today is Monday.
I've just realised something.
I've missed the gig.
It should have been written in my diary.
But it wasn't.
When I added the new pages, I forgot to transfer the dates.
I forgot.
I forgot about a gig which I had been looking forward to for weeks.
If not years.
Current mood: wretched. # ·
"Just doing it for myself - and if anybody else happens to like it, that's a bonus."
...because everybody needs a place to plonk.
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portrait of Mike by Vitriolica Webb.
It's all © Mike, thank you very much. No funny business, or else I'll send the A-list round. Then you'll be sorry.